Forgotten Dangers
by Chris Fitzsimmons
Summary: Disaster strikes as Frank and Joe prepare for their double wedding. As they race against the clock to stop the threat to their new lives, they discover a shocking truth about someone they thought they'd heard the last of.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is the sequel to **_**Forgotten Enemies**_**. If you have not read it, I suggest you do that first.**

**That being said, I hope you enjoy this story and please review!**

Frank Hardy groaned as Nancy changed her mind once again. "Come on, Nan," he pleaded, "it doesn't matter what color the flowers are."

"Give it up, bro," blonde Joe Hardy laughed. "You are never going to win."

"That's right," Iola Morton said. "Nancy and I can take you on any day."

"And we have the majority," Brandi Hardy added.

Frank threw his hands in the air. "I give up," he announced. "I can't win!" He turned to Joe, "You want to check out that new sporting goods store?"

"Sounds good," Joe agreed. "Let's go."

The two brothers hurried out of the flower store before the girls could object.

Frank and Joe Hardy were at the River Heights Mall with their fiancées, Nancy Drew and Iola Morton, and their sister, Brandi. They were doing some last minute shopping for the upcoming wedding.

Frank had asked Nancy to marry him nearly six months ago. Joe, following his example, had asked Iola to be his bride. Having lost her once, Joe was not about to let it happen again.

Although relatively young at the ages of twenty-one and twenty, the brothers knew that there were no guarantees in their line of work. The double lives of private investigators and agents for the top secret government agency known as the Network were dangerous. The brothers wanted to be married to the girls they loved even if it was for a short time.

The wedding was to be held in Nancy's hometown of River Heights, Illinois. The two couples had decided to have a double wedding. The local hotels were filled with wedding guests.

Even though the wedding was only a week away, the two brides-to-be had changed their minds about the decorations many times over. Finally Frank and Joe had had enough and decided to let the girls shop on their own.

Frank and Joe were browsing through the basketballs when Frank's cell phone rang. "Hello?" Frank answered quickly.

"Hello, Frank," the Gray Man said. The Gray Man, or Arthur Gray, was the head of the top secret government agency known only as the Network.

"What do you need?" Frank asked with a sinking feeling. If the Gray Man was calling them, it meant he needed them to do something.

"I need to meet with you," the Gray Man said. "Can you meet me at your office tomorrow at ten?"

"What is this about?" Frank demanded. "My wedding is in six days."

"I realize that," the Gray Man replied, "and I wouldn't bother you, but this is about your wedding."

"What about it?" Despite himself, Frank's curiosity was aroused.

"I can't say any more over the phone. Tomorrow. Ten o'clock." With that the phone went dead.

"Who was that?" Joe asked, dreading the answer.

"The Gray Man," Frank said. He proceeded to tell Joe everything that their boss had said.

"Something about our wedding?" Joe said. "What could that possibly be?"

"I don't know," Frank replied, "but I guess we're going to find out."

Deciding that there was nothing that they could do until the next day, the brothers went back to examining the basketballs.

Just then the two Hardys saw their friends Chet Morton, Biff Hooper, and Tony Prito come into the store. Seeing the brothers, the group hurried over.

"We've come to rescue you," Chet announced.

"Oh?"

"Yes, we need you two to fill out our basketball team," Biff said. "There were some guys over at the gym talking trash, so we challenged them to a game."

"I don't know," Frank said doubtfully, "I'll have to check with Nancy."

"We already talked to Nancy and Iola," Tony said. "How do you think we found you? Now come on."

With that, the five friends hurried out of the store. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of the River Heights YMCA.

Several hours and just as many games of basketball later, the group returned to their hotel.

As they walked into the lobby, they were met by Nancy, Iola, Brandi, and Nancy's friends, George Fayne and Bess Marvin.

"How was the game?" George asked.

"It was awesome!" Tony replied. "You should have seen Frank's slam dunk at the end! It was amazing!"

"So I take it you won?" Nancy asked.

"Of course we did," Chet boasted as he puffed out his chest. "Those River Heights chumps had nothing on us."

"We figured as much," Iola said, "so we ordered a pizza to celebrate."

"Sweet!" Tony rejoiced.

"Lead the way!" Chet added.

"It's up in our suite," Iola said. She led the way to the elevators and all ten of them managed to crowd into one elevator.

"We also rented a movie," Nancy said casually as she opened the door to the girls' spacious suite.

"What movie?" Joe asked suspiciously.

"_Feel the Wind_," Iola replied sweetly.

"Oh no!" Chet cried, "we've been duped into watching a chick flick!"

"No wonder they were so nice to us," Biff groaned.

"It's a good movie!" Brandi protested.

"Yeah," Frank retorted, "if you're a wimpy girl!"

Nancy smacked his arm. "I resent that!"

"What? She says she resembles that?" Joe retorted. "I agree!"

Nancy stuck out her tongue at her future brother-in-law.

"All right," Frank said, "how about a truce? We'll watch _Feel the Wind_ tonight if you'll watch _Fists of Fury_ with us tomorrow night."

Nancy groaned. "You know how much I hate that movie," she protested.

"That's the deal," Joe echoed. "Take it or leave it."

"Fine," Nancy grumbled. "It's a deal."

Within minutes the young people were seated in the living area of the suite watching the movie and downing slices of hot pizza.

Frank was refilling his plate when his cell phone rang. "Hello?" he answered. There was silence. "Hello?" he repeated.

"You won't live until your wedding day, Hardy!" an ominous-sounding voice announced.


	2. Chapter 2

"Who is this?" Frank demanded. "How did you get this number?"

Instead of an answer, the line went dead.

"Who was that?" Nancy called. She saw the troubled look on his face. "What's wrong?"

Frank forced a smile onto his face. "Nothing," he replied. "It was just a wrong number." He gave Joe a meaningful look.

"Franklin Dixon Hardy," Nancy said sternly, "are you lying to me?"

"Of course not," Frank said smoothly. "Let's finish the movie."

"All right," Nancy agreed, somewhat suspiciously.

***

Two hours later, as the brothers entered their own suite, Joe said, "All right. Spill it. Who was on the phone?"

"I don't know," Frank said. He told his brother what the anonymous caller had said.

"Did you get the number that he was calling from?" Joe asked.

"No," Frank replied. "It was restricted."

"I wonder what is going on," Joe mused. "First the Gray Man and now this threat."

"I don't know," Frank said, "but it has me worried." He yawned widely. "We had better get to sleep or we'll never get to that meeting with the Gray Man."

"You're right," Joe agreed, also yawning.

***

Bright and early the next morning the two brothers climbed in their one-of-a-kind yellow GTO for the two hour drive to their office in Chicago. As Frank started the engine, Brandi suddenly appeared at his window.

"Yes?" Frank asked as he rolled down the window.

"You may have fooled Nancy, but you haven't fooled me," his sister told him. "I can tell something is going on. Out with it."

Frank sighed. "Fine, you caught us," he admitted. "Hop in; we're on our way to meet with the Gray Man right now."

Brandi raised her eyebrows as she climbed into the car. "The Gray Man is here?" she asked. "Something big must be happening. Are you going to tell me what it is?"

Frank sighed again heavily as he put the sports car into gear. "I wish we knew," he told her. He quickly told her about the Gray Man's call and the threatening call of the night before. He finished with, "And now you know as much as we do."

"That's interesting," Brandi murmured as she removed her windbreaker to make herself more comfortable for the long ride.

"Looks like someone came prepared," Joe teased as he saw the shoulder holster that had been hidden under the jacket.

"Well, since you wouldn't tell me what was going on, I figured that I should be prepared for anything," the eldest Hardy sibling retorted.

Joe grinned as he pulled back his sport coat to reveal the shoulder holster that he was wearing. "We though the same thing," he told her.

"Well, you know what they say," Brandi replied.

"What's that?"

"'Great minds think alike,'" she said with a chuckle.

"Did you hear that, Frank?" Joe asked mischievously. "She said I have a great mind."

Frank groaned. "You just had to say that, didn't you?" he pretended to be angry with his sister. "Anyway," he added with a grin, "he must have a great mind because it's obvious that the girls don't like him for his looks."

Joe winced. "Touché. I guess you got me there," he conceded.

The trio broke into laughter as the fake fight was put behind them. They spent the rest of the drive talking and teasing each other. Even though their conversation was light hearted, Frank could tell that they were all becoming increasingly tense as they came closer to their destination.

At precisely 9:45 Frank pulled up to the warehouse where their offices were located. He pressed a button on the remote clipped to the sun visor and the large garage door in front of them rolled up. Frank pulled the sports car into the indoor parking space and turned off the engine as he pressed the remote button to close the large door.

As the three Hardys climbed out of the car, they were approached by Agent Faith Luck. "The Gray Man is waiting in your office," she said crisply to Frank. Agent Luck had been Frank's first choice as a right hand when he had opened this branch office for the Network. Despite her young and attractive appearance, she was one of the best agents that Frank had ever met.

"Thank you, Faith," Frank said as he started walking towards his office. Opening the door, he was not surprised to see that Arthur Gray had commandeered Frank's chair behind the large desk. With a sigh, Frank dropped into one of the chairs placed in front of the desk. Joe and Brandi quickly followed his example.

"So what's this all about?" Joe asked the Gray Man impatiently.

The Gray Man ignored him. "As you all know," he said, "the Assassins are slowly becoming extinct. Although there are still some on the loose, they are, for the most part, ineffective."

Frank raised his eyebrows. "'For the most part'?" he asked.

"What does this have to do with our wedding?" Joe wanted to know.

"I'm getting to that," Arthur Gray replied, annoyed at the interruption. He continued, "Intel has confirmed that a small group of Assassins have rallied under the leadership of a man, or woman, that we know only as 'The Avenger.'"

Joe snickered. "Talk about a cheesy name," he scoffed.

"Cheesy or not," the Gray Man told them, "the Avenger has us worried. We know that he is going to do something soon."

"What is he doing to do?" Brandi asked.

"We're not sure," the Gray Man replied. "We only know the target."

"Which is?" Frank prompted.

"Your wedding," the Gray Man said seriously.

"What?" Joe sat up straight.

"That doesn't make sense. Why would he want to do that?" Frank asked.

"Partially because of you and partially because of the wedding guests," Arthur Gray said. "Think about it. Your wedding will be attended by many important people. Quite a few Network agents, myself included, as well as some politicians and some other important business people will be there."

"You said only partially because of the guests," Frank reminded him. "What does the Avenger have against us?"

"We're not positive on that either. It may be because of Frank killing El Gato or the Avenger may have some other grudge against you," the Gray Man answered.

"So it may be someone we ran across in the past," Joe said.

"That is a logical assumption," the Gray Man agreed.

"So you want us to find out who the Avenger is and what he's planning to do at our wedding," Frank stated.

"That is correct," Arthur gray confirmed.

Frank sighed. "Show us what you have so far," he said.

"Agent Luck will do that," the Gray Man told them. "I have to be going." He stood up and left the room.

Within moments of the Gray Man's departure, Agent Luck entered the office.

"What do you have for us?" Frank asked as he moved to his seat behind the desk. He draped his sport coat over the back of the chair before sitting in it.

She laid a file folder on the desk. The group all crowded around to see the contents. "An Assassin from one of the bases that we captured last week broke under interrogation. He told us that the Avenger was planning an attack on your wedding," Faith Luck told them in her crisp, professional voice. "He did not know what the method was but he did say that the objective was the elimination of everyone at the wedding." She pulled a color photograph out of the folder and showed it to the Hardys. "This is him."

"He looks kind of familiar," Joe said as he studied the picture.

"Yeah," Frank agreed, "but I can't place him."

"His name is Ronald Murray," Agent Luck said.

"Still nothing," Frank shook his head.

"Among Assassin circles, he was also known as 'Boris,'" she added.

Joe snapped his fingers. "I remember now!" he exclaimed. At Frank's still blank look, he said one word. "Indonesia."

Frank's eyes widened. "What is he doing loose?" he asked. "He was locked up years ago."

"Apparently he escaped while being transported about two months ago," Agent Luck replied.

"Who is Boris?" Brandi wanted to know.

"He was one of the Assassins that we put away several years ago when we went undercover as Assassins," Frank told her. "Boris and his buddies were trying to hold up the United Nations for ten billion dollars by threatening to drop a hydrogen bomb into a volcano."*

"Sounds like a nice guy," Brandi said dryly.

"Do you think that this is related to what happened then?" Joe asked Frank.

"I don't know," Frank said thoughtfully. "What about the others that were involved?" he asked Agent Luck. "Are they still in jail?"

She checked her notes. "Yes they are," she confirmed.

"So if it is related to the Indonesian incident," Frank concluded, "the Avenger is an unknown party."

"Maybe we should have a talk with Boris," Joe suggested. "He may be able to throw some light on the subject."

"I thought you might say that," Agent Luck said. "He's in the holding cell downstairs."

As the three Hardys entered the holding cell they saw that it was empty.

"Where is he?" Joe asked.

"Check the bathroom," Frank suggested.

Joe crossed to the partially open door and looked in. He gasped and took a step back.

"Is he there?" Brandi asked.

"He's here," Joe said carefully, "but I don't think he's going to be answering any questions."

*Hardy Boys Casefiles #76-78


	3. Chapter 3

Frank crossed quickly to the open door. The sight before him made him wince and look away.

"What is it?" Brandi asked.

"He hung himself," Joe answered softly.

"How…?"

"He used the sheet from his bed," Frank replied. He addressed Agent Luck. "Get a cleanup crew in here," he instructed her.

"Yes, sir," she said as she left the cell.

"Now what?" Joe asked. "He was our only lead."

"He was only free for two months," Frank said. "He learned about the attack in those two months. We have to backtrack him and find out where he's been. If we can figure that out, we might learn something else."

Agent Luck reentered the room with a cleanup team. She pointed them to the bathroom.

"Where was Boris recaptured?" Frank asked her.

"He was at the base in Hawaii," Agent Luck replied.

"Sounds like he was trying to get back to somewhere familiar," Joe commented.

"Get me everything he had on him when he was captured," Frank ordered. "There has to be something in there that will tell us how he got to Hawaii. Also, I want everybody else that was arrested there interrogated. They might be able to tell us when he got there and how."

"Yes, sir," Agent Luck said as she pulled out her cell phone.

Just then Frank's cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID before opening it. It was Nancy. "Hi, Honey," he answered.

"Franklin Dixon Hardy!" Nancy's voice was anything but happy. "Where in the world are you?"

"Chicago," Frank replied sheepishly.

"Chicago!" I'm here trying to plan our wedding and you're running all over the state? What are you doing in Chicago?" Nancy demanded.

"Something came up," Frank said lamely.

"Are you working on a case?" she asked, interested in spite of herself.

"Yes, we are," Frank finally admitted.

"During our wedding week?" she asked in disbelief.

"It has to do with our wedding," Frank defended himself. He quickly summed up what he had found out so far. He ended his explanation by saying, "It looks like Joe and Brandi and I are probably going to have to go to Hawaii for a day or two."

"I'm coming with you," Nancy decided.

"You need to stay here and help Iola with the wedding preparations," Frank protested.

"Iola can take care of it by herself," Nancy said. "If she has any questions, she can call my cell phone."

"All right," Frank finally gave in. "We'll pick you up later." He ended the call and turned to see Joe smirking at him. "What's your problem?" Frank snapped at his younger brother.

Joe's grin widened. "Nancy let you know who's boss?" he teased.

Frank's frown deepened. "Let's go look at Boris' belongings," he changed the subject.

"Faith had them delivered to your office," Brandi told him.

"Let's go," Frank said. They walked out of the cell as the cleanup team rolled Boris' body out of the bathroom on a gurney. Frank led the way into his office. He picked up the large plastic zipper bag that was sitting on his desk. Large letters on the side said, "Ronald Murray." Frank emptied the bag onto the smooth wooden surface of the desk.

"What do we have here?" Joe said as he picked through the items on the desk.

Laid out before them was a leather wallet, a ring of keys, a watch, and a pair of sunglasses.

Frank picked up the keys and examined them closely. "It looks like we have a car key and an apartment key," he said. He looked at the third and final key. "This one might go to a padlock or suitcase," he said.

"Rolex watch and Oakley sunglasses," Joe said. "Not cheap."

Brandi flipped open the wallet. "No ID," she announced. "Fifty dollars cash and a picture of a girl," she said.

Frank looked at the picture. "Maybe we can use it to get a match on the computer," he suggested.

"No need," Brandi said as she showed him the back of the photo. "It says 'Denise' and a phone number," she said.

Frank punched the number into his desktop computer. "The number is for a Denise Clark in Honolulu," he told his siblings.

"What I don't understand," Joe said, "is how he got to Honolulu without any ID. He had to at least have a driver's license to get on a plane."

"My guess is that he stashed it somewhere once he arrived," Frank said.

"Actually," Brandi spoke up, "something doesn't feel right about this wallet. The one side feels thicker and stiffer than the other one." She studied it carefully. "It looks like the one seam might have been resewn," she decided. She pulled a switchblade knife out of her pocket and pressed the button. The blade sprung open.

"Aren't those illegal?" Joe teased, motioning to the knife.

"Yes," Brandi retorted, "but who's going to take it away?"

"Good point," Joe conceded.

Brandi grinned at him and then directed her attention back to the wallet. She pressed the sharp blade against the seam and the threads separated. She pulled the leather apart and reached into the cavity. "What's this?" she asked as she held out a blank white plastic card.

"Something else from Indonesia," Frank said as he took the card. He turned it over in his hand. "When we were there before, one of the Assassins had one of these that opened an airport locker," he explained.

"So Boris took a detour to Indonesia before going to Hawaii?" Joe asked.

"Not necessarily," Frank said. "The lockers were experimental at the time, but now they may be more widely used." He started typing on his computer. A few moments later a wide grin split his face. "Jackpot!" he exclaimed.

"What is it?" Joe asked excitedly.

"The airport in Honolulu now uses this kind of locker," Frank announced.

"Looks like we're going to Honolulu," Joe said, matching Frank's grin.

"What are we waiting for?" Brandi asked.

"Nothing at all," Frank said. He grabbed the overnight bag he kept in his office for such occasions as Joe and Brandi scrambled to their offices for theirs.

As the group walked towards their car Frank called out to Agent Luck. "Call ahead to O'Hare and have them get the Learjet ready to go," he instructed.

"Yes, sir," she said, already picking up the phone.

The three Hardys hopped into the yellow Pontiac GTO and within moments they were speeding down the street toward the airport.

As they approached the airport, Frank called Nancy and told her that they would pick her up shortly. She assured him that she would be ready. Reaching the airport, Frank quickly parked the car. Joe and Brandi were already halfway to the hangar by the time Frank had the doors locked.

The trio walked through the hangar to where the Learjet was waiting in front of the building. They could hear the whine of the jet engines as they came closer to the plane.

A member of the ground crew approached Frank. "She's all ready, sir!" He yelled over the noise of the engines.

"Thanks, Ryan!" Frank shouted back as he shook his hand. The three siblings boarded the jet and the noise of the engines faded almost completely as Joe shut the door.

Frank took the pilot's seat and Brandi the copilot's as Joe relaxed in the plush leather seats of the passenger cabin. Within minutes, they had received clearance for takeoff and were taxiing down the runway.


	4. Chapter 4

As the jet rose into the air from the River Heights airport, Nancy spoke to Joe. "Frank mentioned something about Indonesia," she said to her future brother-in-law. "Tell me what happened there."

"All right," Joe agreed. As the plane gained altitude, he told her about one of the brothers' most challenging cases. He told her about the stressful weeks of undercover work that they had done, posing as Assassins. In the end, they had successfully foiled the Assassins' plan to reconfigure the earth by dropping a hydrogen bomb into a volcano.

"Wow," Nancy said when he had finished. "That's quite the story. And that's the last that you've heard of them until today?"

"Well, not quite," Joe said. "We did meet up with Bob, the pilot, again later."* He told her about Bob's plan to contaminate New York City's water supply with radioactive waste.

"Wow," Nancy said again. "These guys play for keeps, don't they?"

"That's why I didn't want to bring you along," Frank said as he stepped out of the cockpit.

"Don't you worry," Nancy said as she patted the gun in her shoulder holster. "I can take care of myself."

Joe chuckled. "That's right, Nancy," he grinned, "tell him who's boss."

Frank shot him a withering look.

"Don't think that Iola is going to let you get away with whatever you want," Nancy teased Joe.

"Oh don't worry," Frank said, "she has him wrapped around her little finger."

"That's what she thinks," Joe shot back with a grin.

As Frank and Nancy snickered, Joe changed the subject. "I was just telling Nancy all about the Indonesia case," he said to Frank. A wistful look came into his eyes. "Do you remember that one girl?" he said. "What was her name? Gina?"

"Gina Abend," Frank confirmed.

"She was something else, wasn't she?" Joe reminisced.

Frank snorted. "She was something else, all right," he scoffed. "She was an Assassin!"

"Still," Joe replied, "she was cute, for a murderer that is."

"What happened to her?" Nancy asked.

"She was shot and killed by Boris," Joe replied bitterly.

"He really liked Gina," Frank explained to Nancy. He grinned, "Although he also liked that Network agent, Endang," he teased his brother.

Joe grinned too. "Yeah, she was all right too," he agreed.

Nancy groaned. "Here you are, getting married in less than a week, and still talking about other girls," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" Joe defended himself. "I was just reminiscing, that's all."

Nancy opened her mouth to retort when Brandi's voice came over the intercom. "We're beginning the approach into San Diego," she announced. "We'll refuel and then it's straight to Honolulu."

"I'd better go help her," Frank said as he stood up. He made his way into the cockpit as the plane started to angle downwards.

***

Several hours later Joe and Nancy were dozing in the back of the jet as it approached Honolulu. They were jolted awake by the sudden veering of the jet.

"What's going on?" Joe demanded as he burst into the cockpit.

Frank flipped a switch and the plane was flooded with radio traffic.

"Lear N8J57," a voice said over the radio, "this is the United States Air Force. You will land immediately, or you will be shot out of the sky!"

The Hardys looked at each other in dismay. "What?" Nancy exclaimed.

"We'd better do what they say," Frank said. He spoke into the mike. "Air Force F-35, this is Lear N8J57," he said. "We will comply."

"Roger that, N8J57," the F-35 pilot said. "Follow us to Hickam Air Force Base."

"Roger that," Frank agreed as he fell in behind the F-35s.

"What do you think the problem is?" Nancy asked as they began their descent to the base's runway.

"I think we're about to find out," Joe said wryly.

As they touched down, a large group of Air Force Security Forces surrounded the plane.

"I don't think this is a friendly visit," Brandi cracked as she looked at the airmen's raised M-4 assault rifles.

"I think I would have to agree with you there," Frank said easily as he shut down the engines.

"Come out with your hands raised!" the commanding officer shouted through a megaphone.

The four in the Learjet carefully opened the cabin door and stepped out onto the asphalt.

"Keep your hands where we can see them!" the officer ordered. He walked up to the group.

"What is the problem, Captain?" Frank asked as the man drew near.

"We received a report that you are terrorists planning to bomb Honolulu," the captain told them.

"That's ridiculous!" Nancy protested.

"Sir," Frank said, "someone has played a prank on you. My name is Special Agent Frank Hardy, FBI. This is my brother, Special Agent Joe Hardy, and my sister, Special Agent Brandi Hardy. And this is my fiancée, Detective Nancy Drew of the Chicago Police Department."

The officer was taken aback. "I assume you all have identification?" he asked.

"Of course," Frank replied as he carefully pulled out his identification and handed it to the officer. The others did the same.

"I'll need to check these out," the captain told them. "Keep them covered until I get back," he ordered his men. He walked quickly into one of the nearby buildings.

Even though they were not really FBI agents, the Hardys were not worried. They knew that any checks into the FBI database would confirm their claims.

In a few minutes, the officer returned. "They check out," he announced as he handed them their IDs. "I apologize for this," the captain told them.

"What can you tell us about this report?" Frank asked him as he tucked the wallet back into his pocket.

"Our switchboard received an anonymous call earlier. The caller gave us your tail number and told us that you had bombs on board that you were planning to drop on Honolulu," the officer said.

"Why would someone do such a thing?" Nancy asked.

"To slow us down and distract us," Frank told her grimly.

"Well, it's working," Joe put in angrily.

"Let's get out of here," Brandi said. "We've wasted enough time already."

With that, the group bid the captain goodbye and reboarded the jet. Minutes later they were airborne on their way to Honolulu International Airport.

***

"All right," Frank said as they taxied in from the runway, "how are we going to do this?"

"Joe and I will go get a rental car while you and Nancy check out the locker," Brandi suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Frank agreed as he shut down the whining jet engines.

The group quickly disembarked and made their way towards the terminal. As they entered, they split up to do their respective tasks.

Frank and Nancy quickly followed the signs to the locker area. Frank handed the card to the attendant. The man swiped it through a card reader. "B-19," he said in a bored voice. He handed the card back to Frank and returned to his book.

Frank and Nancy found the correct locker and Frank inserted the card into the slot on the front. The locker beeped and popped open. Frank reached into the locker and pulled out a small duffel bag. After checking to make sure that there was nothing else in the locker, he shut the door and stood up. "Let's go find Joe and Brandi," he said as they began to walk out of the locker area.

As they approached the car rental counters, Joe spotted them. He tapped Brandi on the shoulder and started towards them. "Did you get it?" Joe asked once they were within earshot.

Frank held up the bag in answer. "Did you get a car?" he countered.

"Sure did," Joe said, dangling a set of keys. "I don't think so," Joe said when Frank held out his hand for the keys. "I get to drive this time."

"Fine." Frank shrugged his shoulders and started towards the rental lot. "Where to?" he asked Joe once they had reached the lot.

"It should be over here," Joe said, heading towards one corner of the lot. "Ah, here it is," Joe said. He pressed a button on the remote and the lights flashed on a brand new Mustang convertible.

Frank raised his eyebrows. "And we're supposed to all fit in there?" he asked.

"Sure," Joe replied easily, "you and I get the front and the girls get the back."

Frank shrugged. "Sounds good to me," he agreed.

Amidst dirty looks from Nancy and Brandi, the two brothers loaded the bags into the trunk of the sporty car.

Joe opened the driver's door. "Ladies," he said as he held the seat forward for them to climb in. The women gave him more dirty looks as they entered their cramped quarters.

Frank and Joe hopped into the front seats and Joe started the car. Joe pressed a button and an electric motor lowered the convertible top.

Within moments the four young people were driving down the highway. "Any idea where we're going?" Frank asked.

"Of course," Joe said, pretending to be offended. He held up his PDA. "I downloaded driving directions.

"Uh, guys?" Brandi said. "Don't look now, but I think we grew a tail."

Joe instantly looked in the rearview mirror. "Red truck, 100 yards back?" he asked.

"That's the one," Brandi confirmed.

Joe tried to see the driver of the pickup, but he could not see through the dark tinted windows. The traffic was beginning to thin out as they left the airport behind.

"Let's see if they can keep up," Joe said with a grin as he pressed down on the accelerator.

The convertible leapt forward as the engine whined in protest. "How are we doing?" Joe asked as he whipped around a sharp turn in the road, his tires squealing.

"Not so good," Frank replied. "They're gaining!"

As Joe fought to control the sports car, the red truck drew even with them. "Look out!" Nancy screamed. "He has a gun!"

Nancy's warning was followed by the sharp staccato sound of automatic gunfire. A moment later Joe felt a sharp impact on the side of his head!

*Hardy Boys Casefiles #100 _True Thriller_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I started a second job and so I have been super busy, plus I am no longer allowed to use the internet at my other job. And then on top of that, I went to update and my computer decided to fry my power supply so I had to wait until the new one got here. Because it has been so long, I decided to just post the rest of the story. Enjoy!**

"Joe!" Frank yelled as he saw his brother's head jerk sharply. He grabbed the steering wheel as Joe slumped in his seat. Frank yanked the hand brake and the convertible fishtailed wildly as it squealed to a stop. The red truck accelerated and roared away. Frank called his brother's name again and shook him.

"What hit me?" Joe groaned as he sat up.

"This," Nancy told him as she held up a small wad of cardboard.

"They were shooting blanks?" Joe asked in disbelief as he took the wad. "What were they trying to prove?"

"Think about it," Brandi said. "They don't want to actually kill you; that would ruin their plan. They just want to scare you out of investigating or delay the investigation enough to carry out their plan."

"So what you're saying," Joe said, "is that we're pretty much safe."

"Until the wedding," Brandi teased.

Joe glared at her in return. "My face hurts," he complained.

"Let me see," Frank ordered. Joe turned towards his older brother. "You have a pretty nasty bruise," Frank said, "but I think you'll live."

"If those guys think that shooting blanks at us is going to scare us off of this case, they're mistaken," Nancy said angrily.

"You got that right," Joe said grimly as he restarted the Mustang. "Let's go find this Denise Clark." He put the car in gear and stomped on the accelerator. The sports car left twin tracks of rubber on the road as it tore down the highway.

Ten minutes later, Joe stopped the car in front of a small but well-kept house. "This is the place," he announced to his passengers.

"Let's see if Miss Clark is home," Frank said as he opened his door.

The four young people quickly walked up to the front door. Frank knocked firmly on the door. After a few moments they saw the curtain on the window twitch as someone looked out.

"I'm not interested!" a female voice called.

"We're not selling anything, Miss Clark," Frank replied as he held his FBI badge up to the window.

There was a moment of silence and then the front door opened. Before them stood a young lady of approximately 25 years of age. She had shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Are you Denise Clark?" Frank asked, even though he recognized her from the photograph.

"Yes, I am," she confirmed.

"I'm Special Agent Frank Hardy and these are Special Agents Joe and Brandi Hardy and Detective Nancy Drew," Frank introduced them. "May we come in?"

"I suppose so," Denise answered hesitantly. She stepped back to let them in.

Frank got right down to business. "Miss Clark, do you know this man?" he asked, showing her a picture of Boris.

Denise started to shake her head. "How about this?" Frank said. He showed her the picture of her that had been in Boris' wallet.

Denise's face brightened. "Now I remember," she said. "I work as a bartender downtown. A few weeks ago this guy came into the bar. We got to talking and he asked for my number. He seemed nice enough so I gave it to him. I wrote it on the back of the picture because that was what I had handy."

"What was his name?" Frank asked.

Denise looked embarrassed. "I don't remember," she admitted. "I talk to so many guys at work that it's impossible to keep them straight."

Frank persisted. "Did he tell you why he was in Honolulu?" he asked.

"Something about a planning meeting," Denise said. "It stuck in my mind because he really didn't want to talk about it."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about this man?" Frank asked.

"Not that I can remember," Denise said after a moment's thought.

Frank stood up and extended his hand. "Thank you for your time," he said to Denise as he shook her hand.

***

"That was a waste of time," Joe said a few minutes later as the group was climbing into the car.

"I'm not so sure," Brandi replied. "I think she was hiding something."

"I agree with Brandi," Nancy said.

"Well, why don't we go find a hotel for the night and we can check out what is in Boris' bag," Frank suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Joe agreed. The girls also voiced their agreement.

After several minutes of fiddling with his PDA, Frank said, "This sounds like a good place." He quickly told Joe how to get to the hotel.

Moments later they were on their way.

"Wow, you picked a fancy one," Joe whistled as he stopped in front of the hotel that Frank had decided on.

"Hey," Frank replied, "we're not paying for it."

"True," Joe said with a smile as he opened the trunk of the Mustang.

The four young people grabbed their bags out of the car and hurried into the hotel. They quickly approached the desk.

"Can I help you?" the clerk asked.

"We would like a suite for the night," Frank told him.

"Are you sure that you can afford it?" the man sniffed. He named a large sum.

"Not a problem," Frank said without even blinking.

The man was obviously surprised as he took the government credit card that Frank handed to him. The clerk took Frank's information and soon the group of young people was riding the elevator to their floor.

As the elevator opened onto their floor, the group was amazed. "What are you doing here?" Frank asked in astonishment.

"What are you doing here?" the man before him countered.

"I asked you first," Frank said to Agent Eric Jacobs. Agent Jacobs and Agent Sage Jameson were waiting for the elevator!

"We're here on vacation," Eric answered. "What are you doing here?"

"We're on a case," Frank told them.

"I see," Jacobs replied. Then, "Wait a minute! Isn't your wedding in a few days?"

"Yes, it is," Frank told him.

"Then what in the world are you doing on a case?"

"We can't explain now," Frank told his friend, "but if you come by Suite 512 later, we'll tell you everything."

"All right," Eric agreed "we'll see you later."

The three Hardys and Nancy bid goodbye to the two Network agents and hurried towards their suite. Joe fidgeted impatiently as he waited for Frank to unlock the door. When the door was finally opened, he was the first one through it.

"Pretty nice digs," Joe commented, glancing around the room. "Now get in here so we can see what's in the bag."

Frank laughed. "Keep your shirt on," he suggested as he led the way to a sitting area. He settled on the sofa and emptied Boris' bad onto the coffee table.

"Let's see," Joe murmured as he rifled through the contents. "We have cash, cash, and more cash!"

"And a cell phone," Nancy added, picking up the sleek device.

"And what I was looking for," Frank stated as he held up a passport and driver's license.

"What name did he go by?" Brandi wanted to know.

"Edward Paull," Frank read. He pulled out his cell phone. "I'll get Faith started on this immediately," he told them.

Agent Luck answered on the first ring. "I was just going to call you, sir," she said by way of greeting.

"What have you found?" Frank asked.

"One of the prisoners admitted that 'Boris' showed up in Hawaii the day before we arrested them all," the agent replied.

"That's great!" Frank exclaimed. He gave her the name on "Boris'" fake passport. "Go backwards from when he arrived and find out how he got there," Frank ordered. "And call me back as soon as you know anything." He ended the call and turned back to the others. He quickly told them what Agent Luck had discovered.

Brandi snapped her fingers. "Remember what Denise said?" she asked. Before they could answer, she forged on. "She said that Boris told her that he was in Honolulu for a planning meeting. I'll bet that the meeting had something to do with the Avenger's plot!" she announced excitedly. "And if Boris was arrested the next day…"

"Then he probably never made it to that meeting!" Joe finished for her.

"You might have something there," Frank agreed, impressed. "In fact, that meeting still might not have taken place."

As the others considered this idea, Joe looked dubious. "Wouldn't they move it somewhere else?" he asked doubtfully.

"Maybe," Frank agreed, "but maybe that's just what the Avenger wants us to think. I mean, who would think that they would stick around here?"

"Very true," Joe said thoughtfully. He broke into a grin. "You might have something there," he finally conceded.

Further discussion was interrupted by a noise at the door to their suite. Instantly, all of their hands went to their guns. As they watched, the door handle turned, and the door began to open inward!


	6. Chapter 6

Agent Jacobs walked into the suite to find himself staring into four different gun barrels. "Yikes!" he said as he held up his hands. "I'm not armed!"

Frank sighed as he holstered his gun. The others also holstered their weapons. "You could try knocking," he told Eric.

"But that's no fun," Eric protested as he put his master key card back into his pocket.

"I told you it was a bad idea," Sage reprimanded her cousin as she followed him into the suite.

"Okay, okay," Eric threw up his hands. "I surrender already! Do you have to all gang up on me?"

Joe grinned. "I haven't said a word."

Sage rolled her eyes and sat on the couch. Eric sat beside her. "So what's happening?" he asked. "You haven't called off the wedding, have you? I already bought my plane ticket."

"No we haven't called off the wedding," Frank said.

"Yet," Joe amended.

"Oh?" Eric said, raising his eyebrows.

"Our wedding is being threatened," Frank told him. Eric's eyebrows went even higher. Frank quickly explained the case that they were trying to solve. He ended by saying, "So now we're waiting for Faith to call back with some good news."

"So there's nothing else we can do until she calls back?" Sage asked.

"Not really," Frank replied.

"There is one thing," Nancy corrected. She held up Boris' cell phone. "This might hold some interesting clues."

"That it might," Frank agreed. "Turn it on, Nan."

Nancy pressed the power button. Nothing happened. "I think the battery is dead," she said.

"Let me see it," Joe said. He looked at the phone. "We're in luck," he announced, "it takes the same kind of charger mine does." He rummaged around in his overnight bag and pulled out the power cord. "Voila!" he said as he handed the phone and the cord back to Nancy with a dramatic flourish.

Sage Jameson rolled her eyes at Joe's antics. "Grow up, Joe," she said in disgust.

"Haven't you heard?" Joe shot back. "Growing up is optional for guys."

"Obviously," she retorted.

"Okay, you two, knock it off," Nancy ordered. "It's turning on."

The phone emitted a cheerful tune as it started up. "Let's see," Nancy murmured as she scrolled through the options. "Recent calls," she said as she selected the option. "Ready?" she asked Frank as he pulled out a notepad and pen.

"Go for it," he answered.

"He received one from (808) 555-9386 that lasted for three minutes and before that he made one to the same number that lasted two minutes."

"What is his number?" Frank asked when he had finished writing down the other information.

"Just a sec," Nancy replied as she looked for the information. After a few moments, she gave him the desired number.

Frank whipped out his cell phone again and redialed Agent Luck. "Get me everything there is to know about these two numbers," he instructed her. He gave her the numbers and ended the call.

"Now there's nothing we can do until Faith calls back," Nancy said as Frank put down his phone.

"There is one thing," Joe replied.

All eyes turned to Joe, questions in all.

"We can order supper," Joe told them cheerfully, a huge grin splitting his face.

"I thought you meant something relevant," Sage groaned as Eric and Nancy threw decorative pillows at Joe.

"Hey!" Joe protested as he held up his arms to ward off the attack. "Dinner is relevant! I can't think on an empty stomach!"

"I'll order room service," Frank agreed, rolling his eyes as he picked up the room phone.

"Nothing for us," Eric informed him. "We already ate."

Frank quickly made the order and set the phone back into its cradle.

Suddenly Nancy's cell phone rang. "Hello?" she answered it.

The others looked at her curiously, wondering who was on the other end.

"No, no, green is fine," Nancy replied to an unheard question. She made a few more comments and ended the call. "Iola," she said to the group of faces looking at her. "Wedding stuff."

Joe's face broke into an impish grin. "Better you than m…," he started to say. His comment was cut off by the pillow that Nancy had thrown directly at his head. "I'm so persecuted," he said forlornly as he fired the pillow back at Nancy.

The rest of the group snickered at the exchange. The horseplay was interrupted by a strong knock on the door.

Frank was instantly on his feet, his gun clasped in his hand. "Who is it?" he asked as he cautiously approached the door to the suite.

"Room service, sir," a male voice said from the other side of the door.

Frank returned the gun to the holster hidden under his jacket and turned the knob. The bellboy rolled in a large cart piled high with food. Frank's stomach rumbled at the delicious smells wafting from the covered dishes. He quickly tipped the man and closed the door as he left.

Frank rolled the cart over to the sitting area and began passing out the food.

Brandi lifted the cover of her plate and inhaled deeply. Her nose crinkled. "Don't eat it!" she ordered.

Joe stopped a forkful of macaroni and cheese that was halfway to his mouth. "What's wrong?" he demanded.

"This doesn't smell right," she said as she sniffed her food again.

Joe took a big whiff of his macaroni. He grimaced. "You're right," he agreed. He carefully set his plate down. "Let's go find that bellboy," he said to Frank as he crossed to the door.

"I'm right behind you," Frank agreed, hurrying to follow Joe.

The two brothers raced out of the room towards the elevator. Joe punched the button for the lobby and the elevator car shot downwards.

The two brothers were out of the elevator almost before the doors were open. They quickly approached the front desk.

"Can I help you?" the clerk asked, a large smile on his face.

Frank was happy to see that it was not the same snooty clerk from when they had checked in. "I certainly hope so," Frank said, his face one huge smile. "We forgot to top the bellboy who brought us our dinner," he lied smoothly. "Could you point us to him?"

"Of course!" the clerk exclaimed. "That would be Edward. I'll page him.

"Thank you," Frank smiled again before turning away. He leaned towards Joe. "Keep an eye out," he muttered. "He may bolt when he sees us."

"I'm on it," Joe assured him.

A few moments later a young man in a bellboy uniform approached them. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

Frank turned to the clerk. "That's not him," he stated.

"Of course that's him," the clerk insisted. "Edward is the only bellboy working tonight!"


	7. Chapter 7

Frank and Joe looked at each other in dismay. "This man did not deliver our food," Frank insisted.

"He's right, Glen," Edward said. "I've never seen these two guys before."

Frank flipped open his FBI credentials. "Call hotel security," he ordered. "There's an intruder in the hotel posing as a bellboy. He poisoned our dinner."

The clerk's face went white as he grabbed for the telephone. He punched in several numbers and spoke briefly into the mouthpiece. "They'll be right here," he assured Frank.

"I'll wait here for them," Frank told Joe. "You see what you can find out about the imposter."

Joe nodded his agreement and turned to the bellboy. "Can you show me where you pick up the orders to deliver them to the rooms?"

"Certainly," Edward said. "Follow me."

Shortly after Joe and Edward disappeared, a middle aged man wearing a sports coat and sporting a military style haircut hurried up to the desk. "What's going on?" he demanded, his eyes going from the desk clerk to Frank.

"This is Randy Swanson," the clerk hastily introduced the man. "He's the chief of hotel security."

"Mr. Swanson," Frank said as he showed him his FBI badge, "I am Special Agent Frank Hardy. A few minutes ago a man impersonating one of the hotel bellboys delivered poisoned food to our suite. He may still be in the building." He gave the security chief a description of the imposter.

The chief barked some orders into his two-way radio. After listening to the reply, he said to Frank, "My men will search the building. Would you like to come to the security office with me and review the tapes from the security cameras?"

"Certainly," Frank agreed as he followed the man.

***

While Frank was talking to the security chief, Joe was following Edward into the basement of the large hotel.

"This is where we pick up the food," Edward told Joe. "We usually hang out in the lobby until they call us to let us know that we have an order ready. Then we come down and take it to the room."

"Did you get a call about our order?" Joe asked.

"No, I didn't," Edward replied, "but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. If a bellboy happened to be by the kitchen, they would just have him deliver the order."

"So our imposter had to be hanging out down here by the kitchen, waiting for our order to come in," Joe mused.

"That makes sense," Edward agreed.

"So someone had to have seen him," Joe deduced. "Let's see if we can find out whom."

The two young men split and began interviewing the kitchen workers. After asking several employees, Joe finally found the young lady who had prepared their order.

"That was the really big order with the macaroni and cheese, right?" the woman, whose nametag identified her as Lisa, asked.

Joe grinned sheepishly. "That's the one," he confirmed. "Do you remember who picked it up?"

"Yeah," Lisa said. "He was just coming to the kitchen when I finished the order. I remembered him because I didn't recognize him and his uniform didn't fit real well."

She paused and Joe asked, "Did he say anything?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, I commented that he must be new and he told me that he was from a temp agency. He said that Edward wasn't feeling well so he was filling in for him."

"Did he specifically use Edward's name?" Joe asked, scribbling furiously on a notepad.

Lisa pondered the question. "No, I don't think so," she said slowly. "I think he just said, 'the other bellboy.'"

"Did he tell you his name?" Joe continued.

"Yeah," Lisa said, "I believe it was David something."

Joe flipped his notepad shut. "Thank you, Lisa," he said earnestly, "you've been a huge help." Without waiting for a reply, Joe hurried off to find Frank.

As he entered the security office, he saw Frank hunched over studying a video monitor.

"There!" Frank suddenly exclaimed. "That's him!"

"Freeze it," the security chief ordered one of his subordinates. A few moments later, a large laser printer in the corner of the room spewed out a picture of the fake bellboy.

Frank grabbed the print and showed it to Joe. "Look like anybody we've seen before?" he asked.

"No," Joe said as he shook his head.

"Same here," Frank agreed. He passed the picture to Randy Swanson. "Chief?"

"I've never seen him before," the man replied.

"How long have you been here?" Frank asked him. "Could it be a former employee that you wouldn't recognize?"

"No," Swanson replied. "I've been with the hotel since it opened ten years ago."

"Hmmm," Frank murmured. Just then the security phone rang. As the chief turned to answer it, Frank turned to Joe. "Did you find out anything?" he asked quietly.

Joe told his brother what Lisa had said. He finished with, "Maybe when you run his picture through the facial recognition program, you could limit the search to Davids. It could be his real first name."

"True," Frank agreed. "It's worth a shot."

The chief hung up the phone and turned back to the brothers. "That was one of my officers. The lock to the uniform storage room has been forced. They found one of the uniforms lying on the floor like it had been taken off in a hurry."

"So basically, he ditched the uniform and split," Frank summarized.

"Pretty much," Swanson agreed.

"Thank you for your help," Frank told Swanson. "We'll be sure to call you if anything comes up." They shook hands and Frank and Joe headed back to the suite.

"Did you catch him?" Nancy demanded the moment the two brothers walked into the room.

"No, but we found out some stuff," Frank replied. They sat down and Frank and Joe took turns telling the rest of the group what they had discovered. "Have you found out anything?" Frank asked Brandi.

Brandi looked up from where she was testing some of the tainted food with her portable chemistry set. "Yes, actually," she said with a grin. She continued, "The substance in the food is called 'The Bug.' Well, at least that's the street name for it. I'm not going to attempt the scientific name."

"What does it do?" Joe asked curiously.

"Nothing life threatening," Brandi assured him. "It's designed to make you really sick for two or three days."

"So they wanted to make us sick enough so that we couldn't investigate, but we'd be better in time for the wedding," Frank stated.

"That sounds about right," Brandi agreed.

"That's a pretty risky proposition, isn't it?" Eric put in. "I mean, if you got that sick this close to the wedding, what's to stop you from calling it off or postponing it?"

"He actually has a point for once," Sage agreed.

"Maybe it's a risk they felt they had to take," Nancy suggested. "Maybe they think we're closer than we actually are."

"Or maybe," Joe put in, "we're actually closer than we think we are."

The group sat in silence, pondering what Nancy and Joe had said.

Their reverie was interrupted by knock on the door to the suite.


	8. Chapter 8

Frank sprinted to the door with his gun in hand. He pointed the gun at the door and then yanked it open.

On the other side, with his hand raised to knock again, was Edward, the bellboy. He looked startled. He motioned to a cart of food. "Glen, at the front desk, asked me to bring this up with our apologies and our compliments," he told Frank.

"That's awfully nice of him," Frank said as he reholstered his gun and stepped aside. "Tell Glen we appreciate it," he said. He held the door open as Edward rolled the cart into the room. Frank tipped Edward and the man left.

"Take two," Joe cracked as he grabbed the fresh dish of macaroni and cheese. He shoveled up a huge forkful of the pasta and sniffed it before shoving it into his mouth. He closed his eyes blissfully as he chewed. Finally he swallowed. "That hits the spot," he declared as scooped up more of the food.

The others laughed at his actions as they also dug into their own food. There was silence for several minutes as the gathered group ate their supper.

Frank was chewing a bite of his steak when his cell phone rang. "Hello?" he mumbled around the food as he quickly swallowed.

It was Agent Luck. "I traced those two numbers," she told him.

"Great!" Frank replied. "What did you find out?"

"Well, Boris' phone was a dead end. It's one of those prepaid deals."

"What about the other number?" Frank prodded.

"That's a land line," Faith Luck replied. "It came from the Westin Hotel in Honolulu."

"The Westin Hotel and Conference Center," Frank added thoughtfully. "Where better to have a planning meeting than at a conference center?"

"Exactly, sir," Agent Luck agreed.

"Is there any way to find out what room that call originated from?" Frank asked eagerly.

"1425," Faith replied without hesitation.

Frank whistled appreciatively. "You're good!" he said.

"Thank you, sir," Luck responded professionally.

"Any word on his travel arrangements?" Frank wanted to know.

"Not yet," was the answer.

"All right. Keep up the good work," Frank said as he ended the call. He quickly relayed the information to the others.

"What are we waiting for?" Joe asked eagerly as he jumped to his feet. "Let's go!"

"My thoughts exactly," Frank agreed. "Are you two coming?" he asked Eric and Sage.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Eric said eagerly.

"Definitely," Sage agreed. "We'll swing by our suite to grab our tactical gear and meet you there."

"Sounds good," Frank replied. The two agents rushed from the room as Frank zipped open his duffel bag and pulled out a Kevlar vest and a dark blue windbreaker with "FBI" stenciled on the back. He quickly donned the gear as well as a tactical belt with an extra gun, ammunition, and handcuffs. He clipped a radio on his belt and inserted a wireless headset into his right ear.

Joe, Brandi, and Nancy donned identical gear. The only difference was that the letters on Nancy's jacket read "POLICE" instead of "FBI."

"Are we ready to go?" Frank asked.

"10-4," Joe replied.

"We're good," Nancy and Brandi told him.

"All right," Frank said. "Let's go."

The quartet of young people hurried down the hall to the elevators. They rode down to the lobby in tense silence. As they crossed the lobby to the front entrance, several guests gawked at them. They quickly piled into the cramped quarters of the Mustang. Joe was just closing the passenger door when Frank floored the accelerator and peeled out of the parking lot. He drove quickly to the Westin hotel.

Frank was just getting ready to speed into the parking lot of the hotel when he slammed on his brakes. A large Hummer limousine was blocking the driveway as it pulled out onto the street. Frank impatiently waited for the luxury SUV to pass so they could enter. He pulled into the parking lot just as Eric and Sage pulled up behind them. The six people hopped out of the two cars.

"Okay," Frank said, as they huddled. "Here's the plan. Brandi and Eric, you will cover the back door. Sage, you have the side door. Nancy, you cover the parking lot in case they get past the rest of us. Joe and I will go through the front entrance. Any questions?" There were none. "All right, let's go!"

The separate teams hurried off to their respective posts. "Ready?" Frank asked over the radio link. Upon receiving the affirmative, Frank and Joe hurried into the front of the building. They strolled straight up to the front desk.

The clerk's jaw dropped open when she saw them. "Ca…can I help you?" she stuttered.

"I need to know about the guest in room 1425," Frank told her.

"Of course," the clerk said, quickly typing on her computer. "She just checked out about ten minutes ago. Oh, now I remember, she was the one in the Hummer."

"How long has she been here?" Frank asked quickly.

"Two weeks," the clerk replied.

"That's her!" Joe exclaimed. "She has to be the Avenger!"

"Let's go!" Frank said urgently as he sprinted towards the door. "She's getting away!"

The two brothers hit the door at a dead run. Frank jumped into the Mustang. Nancy followed without question. Joe jumped into Agent Jacobs' rental vehicle, a powerful Lincoln Navigator SUV. The two vehicles tore out of the parking lot simultaneously as they raced in the direction that the Hummer limo had taken.

After thirty minutes of searching the roads around the area, the Hardys had to admit defeat. "I think we lost her," Frank radioed to Joe. "Time to pack it in. Let's head back to the hotel and see what else we can find out about her."

"10-4," Joe replied dejectedly.

The two brothers pulled their cars to a stop in front of the hotel and hurried back into the lobby with Nancy hurrying to keep up. They found Eric, Sage, and Brandi sitting on the luxurious couches in the lobby waiting for them.

"Have you questioned the clerk any more?" Frank asked them.

"Not yet," Jacobs replied. "We thought we'd wait for you to get back."

"All right," Frank said. "Let's see what else we can find out. He walked back to the desk where the clerk looked at them expectantly. "What else can you tell us about the guest in room 1425?" he asked. "For starters, what's her name?"

"Her name is Jessica Stanton," the lady replied.

"How did Miss Stanton pay for her room?" Frank asked. "Do we have a credit card that we can track?

"She paid cash," the clerk told him apologetically.

Frank raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that a bit unusual?" he asked.

"Unusual? Yes. Unheard of? No," she said. "This is Hawaii. We have all kinds of weird things happening here. I've learned not to ask too many questions."

"Okay," Frank replied. "What contact information do you have for Miss Stanton?"

"We have her address and phone number," the woman replied. She read off the information.

Frank started to write it down and then stopped in disgust. "She's playing with us," he said to Joe. "That's the address and number for River Heights Community Church."

"Where we're having our wedding?" Joe asked in disbelief.

"The one and only," Frank agreed.

The clerk looked confused. "What is this all about?" she asked.

"It's long and complicated," Frank supplied. "Suffice it to say that you are assisting in a very important federal investigation. Now, I want to see the security tapes from when she checked out. And I want access to her room."

"Certainly," the clerk replied. She handed him a key card and picked up the phone to call security.

Frank, in turn, handed the card to Nancy. "You take the others and go check out the room," he told her. "Joe and I will look at the tapes."

"Sounds good to me," she replied as she headed for the elevators with the rest of the group on her heels.

The clerk hung up the phone. "The security officer will have those recordings queued up for you," she told Frank. She gave him quick directions to the security office.

Frank turned to walk away. "Oh, I almost forgot," he said as he turned back. "Did Miss Stanton rent a conference room at all while she was here?"

The clerk checked her records. "Why yes, she did," she told him. "It looks like they had a meeting in one of our mid sized conference rooms earlier today."

"Of course we missed it," Joe said wryly to Frank as they walked to the security room.

"Story of my life," Frank sighed.

"That would have made it too easy," Joe agreed.

The brothers walked up to the security room and Frank knocked on the door.

"Come in," a youthful male voice answered.

Joe opened the door and they walked into the small room. The young man in the swivel chair sitting in front of the large computer screen turned to face them. "Hi," he said. "My name is Andrew Kane." He offered his hand.

The Hardys shook his hand as Frank introduced them. "Do you have that footage ready for us, Andrew?" he asked.

"Sure do," he replied. "I found her checking out and backtracked her all the way back to when she left her room."

"Great!" Joe said enthusiastically. "Let 'er rip!"

Andrew started the playback and the Hardys intently studied the screen.

"She's good," Frank said after a few minutes. "She managed to either keep out of camera range or keep her back to the camera the whole time."

"Not quite the whole time," Andrew said with a grin as he fast forwarded. He stopped the recording right as Jessica Stanton finished checking out. She turned to walk away from the desk and looked straight into the camera. She smiled at the camera before turning and walking out of the hotel.

The Hardys faces went white.

"It can't be!" Joe exclaimed as he braced himself on the desk for support.


	9. Chapter 9

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Frank assured him. "It's not you."

"But she's dead!" Joe protested.

Frank grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear. "Not here," he said. To Andrew he said, "Can we get a copy of this footage?"

"Sure thing," Andrew said as he popped a blank DVD into the computer's disc drive. A few minutes later the disc finished burning and he handed the DVD to Frank.

"Thanks for your help," Frank said to Andrew.

"Sure, no problem," Andrew said as the Hardys left the room.

"We need to find the others fast," Frank told Joe. They hurried up to the fourteenth floor. "Find anything?" Frank asked the others as they walked into the Avenger's room.

"Nope," Eric said. "It's clean as a whistle. How about you guys?"

"We hit the jackpot," Frank told him, "but I don't want to go into it here. Are you guys ready to go?"

"As ready as we're going to be," he answered.

"Okay, let's split," Frank said.

***

Twenty minutes later, the six young people were once again gathered in the Hardys suite.

"All right, spill it," Brandi ordered. "You guys came up from that office looking like you'd seen a ghost."

"Well," Frank said, "there's a very simple explanation for that."

"Yeah," Joe broke in, "and the explanation is that we _did_ see a ghost."

"Please explain," Nancy said.

"You remember when I was telling you about Indonesia on the plane?" Joe asked. Nancy nodded. "And when I told you about Gina being killed by Boris?" She nodded again. "Well, apparently she is the Avenger."

"How?" Nancy asked in disbelief.

"I don't know!" Joe exclaimed. "I saw Boris shoot her with my own eyes! She should be dead!"

"I think you forget who we are dealing with here," Sage spoke up. "The Assassins are experts at 'resurrecting' people and faking deaths."

"True," Joe agreed.

"We need to get out the alarm immediately," Frank said, already dialing his cell phone.

"Yes, sir?" Agent Luck answered.

"We need an APB put out on Gina Abend, a.k.a. Jessica Stanton, a.k.a. The Avenger, I'm uploading a video with her on it to the Network server right now. She should be considered armed and dangerous. Also I want you to e-mail me the file on her supposed death."

"Understood, sir," Faith Luck replied. "I'll call you as soon as we know something."

Frank ended the call. "I don't know about the rest of you," he said, "but I'm exhausted. Since there's nothing else we can do right now, I'm going to go to bed. I advise the rest of you to do the same."

"Sounds good to me," Eric agreed with a yawn.

***

Frank had been sleeping for just over two hours when his phone rang. "'ello?" he muttered sleepily.

"Facial recognition software detected Gina Abend leaving the plane at LAX thirty minutes ago."

Frank was instantly wide awake. "Did they get her?" he asked excitedly.

"I'm sorry, sir," she replied. "By the time airport police got there, she was gone."

"Of course," Frank replied bitterly. "Keep me informed," he told her. "We will be flying to LA first thing in the morning."

He fell back into a troubled sleep.

***

Bright and early the next morning, Frank roused his siblings and his fiancée and informed them of their impending departure to Los Angeles. He also called the front desk and left a message for Eric and Sage, since he did not want to wake them.

Frank was surprised to see Eric and Sage standing in the lobby when they arrived downstairs. He noticed the luggage sitting beside them. "What are you doing?" he asked. "You still have several days of your vacation left."

"You're not going to get rid of us that easily," Eric told him. "We're with you all the way on this."

"Thanks, guys," Frank said as he choked up. "I appreciated it."

"Don't go getting all mushy on us," Sage snapped. "Let's go. We have a plane to catch."

"Right," Frank agreed. He quickly checked out as the others loaded up the vehicles. They quickly drove to the airport where they turned in their rental cars and got the Learjet ready to go.

The group of six made the flight to Los Angeles in mostly tense silence. They landed at LAX and parked the Learjet in a Network-owned hangar.

"Where to from here?" Joe asked his brother as they climbed out of the plane.

"First we'll interview all of the car rental agencies, limousine services, and shuttle service to see if any of them have seen Gina. Then we'll go from there," Frank told them. He handed them each a picture of Gina. "I printed these up last night. Show them to anybody you think might have seen her. We need to find her and stop her before this weekend."

The six young people split up as soon as they entered the terminal and started questioning people.

Two hours later they met again by the car rental counters. "Any luck?" Frank asked them.

They all shook their heads no.

"Well, we know she's here somewhere," Frank said. "I called the local field office and told them to bring us a couple of cars. We'll check into a hotel and go from there."

As they walked out onto the sidewalk in front of the terminal, Brandi spotted a homeless man sitting up against the wall. She crouched beside him and dropped a one hundred dollar bill into his cup. His eyes gleamed.

"Have you seen this woman?" she asked as she showed him the picture of Gina.

"Yeah, I saw her," he replied.

The others gathered around excitedly. "Are you sure it was her?" Brandi pressed.

"Yeah, I remember her real good," he said. "But she only gave me fifty bucks."

"Where did she go?" Frank asked.

"She got into one of them fancy limos," he told them.

"What color was it?"

"It was black. A private one too; it didn't have one of them commercial plates."

"Did you get a good look at the plate?" Joe asked excitedly.

"Yes, I did."


	10. Chapter 10

"In fact," the homeless man said, "I wrote down the plate number."

"You did?" Frank asked. "Why?"

"I write down the plate numbers of the people that give me a lot," he told them. "That way I can be sure to be out in the open if they come back."

"I see," Frank said, his excitement growing. "May I see the plate number of this lady's limo?"

"For a price," the man replied craftily.

Frank reached into his bag and pulled out one of the stacks of one hundred dollar bills that they had found in Boris' locker. "Will this do?" he asked.

The man's eyes looked like they would bug out of his head. He grabbed the stack of bills and shoved a tattered scrap of paper at Frank.

Frank looked at the paper as they stood up. Just then, three identical black Cadillac Escalade SUVs pulled to a stop at the curb. Three similar looking men in identical black suits hopped out of the SUVs.

"Agent Hardy?" one of the men asked as they approached the waiting group.

"That's me," Frank said as he faced the men.

"I'm Agent Dietrich from the LA Field Office," the man said. "We brought your rides."

"Thank you, Agent Dietrich," Frank replied.

"Will there be anything else, sir?" the agent asked.

"I think that will do it," Frank told time.

"Very good, sir," he said. He hopped into the lead SUV along with the other two agents and they roared away.

"Nice wheels," Joe whistled as he examined the Cadillacs.

"Let's get going," Frank said. "We have a limo to track down." The Hardys and Nancy hopped into one SUV and Eric and Sage hopped into the other. Frank punched the license plate number that the homeless guy had given them into the computer built into the dash. He had just hit "enter" when there was a knock at the window.

"Hey, buddy," an airport police officer said, "you can't park here. You need to move along or I'm going to have to give you a ticket."

Frank rolled down his window and held up his FBI credentials. "It's official business," he said before he rolled up his window. The police officer shook his head and walked away.

"All right," Frank said, "here we go. The limo is registered to a Jack Johnson of Hollywood." He hit another key on the keyboard. Jack Johnson's information scrolled onto the screen. Frank read out loud for the benefit of the others in the car. "Jack Johnson is a retired actor. No criminal record, but he is on a federal watch list."

"What for?" Joe wanted to know.

"Ummmm." Frank hit another key. "Suspected terrorist affiliations."

"No duh!" Joe scoffed. "If he's lending Gina Abend his limo, that definitely counts at 'terrorist affiliations.' Does it tell us anything we don't know?"

"Just his address," Frank said.

"Who's watch list is he on?" Brandi asked. "We don't want to be stepping on any toes."

"Looks like it's the FBI," Frank replied. "And according to this note, they have him under 24/7 surveillance."

"Well, that will never do," Joe said. "Why don't you give the FBI a call and have them back off for a few hours?"

"I have a better idea," Frank replied with mischievous grin. "I'll have the Gray Man call the FBI and have them back off."

Joe grinned back. "You're right," he said. "That is a better idea."

"I know," Frank replied with false modesty, "that's why I get paid the big bucks." Frank quickly called the Gray Man and told him what was going on.

"I'll call off the FBI and have a strike team meet you there," the Gray Man told him.

"Sounds good," Frank said and ended the call. He leaned over and hit another button on the computer keyboard. The SUV's GPS system updated with Jack Johnson's address and a moment later a computerized voice started giving Frank driving directions. As he pulled away from the curb, he called Eric in the vehicle behind them and updated him and Sage on the situation.

***

Forty-five minutes later, the Hardys' small convoy pulled to a stop several hundred yards away from the entrance to Johnson's estate. The six young people piled out and huddled to make a plan of attack.

"I printed off some satellite photos of the mansion on the drive over," Brandi told them as she spread several pictures out on the hood of the Hardys' Escalade.

"Wow," Joe said, "that place is huge."

"Which is why we are going to wait for the strike team to arrive before we even attempt an assault," Frank replied wryly. He studied a stack of papers in his hand. "According to what he has on file with the city, Johnson's estate is protected with the latest in security features. And you can be sure he probably has some extra features that he didn't tell the city about."

"What? Like guard dogs?" Joe cracked.

"Probably," Brandi retorted, "also Assassin commandos and machine guns. Not to mention Gina Abend."

Frank studied the photos some more. "Okay," he said finally, "I think I have a decent plan. One team will hit the front gates and drive right up to the front door." He pointed to the photos to illustrate his instructions. "Simultaneously, three other teams will breach the other three sides of the estate using C-4 to blow through the walls. A fifth team will stay mobile in case they try to run. Are there any questions?" There were none. "Okay, as soon as the strike team gets here, we'll be good to go."

Just then, Nancy's cell phone rang. "Hello? Hmmm. No, I think we should stick with the green. Okay, talk to you later."

The others snickered until Nancy gave them a withering look.

***

Twenty minutes later the strike team pulled up beside them in a convoy of SUVs and an armored personnel carrier. Frank quickly explained the plan of attack to the Network commandos.

Ten minutes later the five teams were in position surrounding the retired actor's estate. "Check in," Frank said over the radio link."

"Team Two, ready."

"Team Three, ready."

"Team Four, ready."

"Team Five, ready."

"On my mark," Frank replied. "Three. Two. One." As Frank ended his countdown there was a tremendous noise as Frank rammed the gate driving the APC and the other three teams detonated the C-4 explosive to blow holes in the estate walls. Frank drove the vehicle right up to the front steps of the mansion as black SUVs drove up to the other three sides of the house. As soon as the vehicles came to a stop, the Network agents jumped out of the vehicles and stormed into the house.

Frank and Joe, bringing up the rear of the team at the front of the house, suddenly stopped in their headlong rush towards the front door.

"Do you hear that?" Joe asked.

"Yes, I do," Frank replied grimly. The brothers shaded their eyes as they looked toward the sky just in time to see a Blackhawk attack helicopter speeding away from the house.

Joe spotted a cylindrical object on the side of the chopper. "Frank!" he yelled over the racket. "Was that what I think it was?"


	11. Chapter 11

"Yes, it was," Frank replied. "That helicopter was equipped with rocket pods!" He keyed his radio. "Team Five," he ordered, "try to keep that helicopter in sight."

"10-4," Eric replied as he mashed the accelerator on the massive SUV that he was driving.

Frank pulled out his cell phone and dialed the Gray Man. He quickly summed up the situation and then said, "Can you contact NORAD and have them keep tabs on that chopper?"

"I'll see what I can do," the Gray Man said before he disconnected the call.

"Well," Frank said as he put his phone away, "let's go see what they found inside."

The two brothers jogged inside the house. They found the rest of the team inside the mansion's living room. "What's going on?" Frank asked.

"He had already taken his cyanide pill by the time we got in here," one of the commandos told him.

"It's a shame really," one of the other agents said. "I actually liked his movies."

"Weren't there any security people around?" Joe wanted to know.

"No, sir," the first commando replied. "We searched the whole place."

Frank stared thoughtfully at the dead actor for a moment. "Okay," he said, "I want this place searched from top to bottom. There has to be some clue of where Gina was going with that chopper. I want his phone records, internet history, e-mail, and anything else you can think of. I want to know everything there is to know about Mr. Johnson's ties to the Assassins. Brandi, get on the phone to the Bureau and find out why he was on their watch list. Get to it, people!"

The house became a scurry of activity as the Network agents hurried to obey Frank's orders. After a few moments, Brandi hung up her phone and came to Frank's side.

"What did you find out?" Frank wanted to know.

"Ironically enough," she told him, "Johnson was on their watch list because of his recent purchase of a Blackhawk helicopter and his suspected purchase of several missiles."

"Any idea how many?"

"Not at this time."

"Hey, Frank," Joe said breathlessly as he hurried up. "You're going to want to see this. One of the agents working on his computer gave this to me." He handed Frank several sheets of paper.

Frank silently read the document.

"What does it say?" Brandi asked curiously.

"It's Johnson's inventory list," he told her. "Apparently he has enough missiles and ammunition for that helicopter to blow up the Empire State Building."

Another Network agent walked up just in time to hear Frank's comment. "Funny you should mention that, sir," she said.

"Why's that?"

"As little as two hours ago, Mr. Johnson's computer was used to access detailed information on the Empire State Building." She handed Frank some more printouts.

Frank quickly skimmed the papers. "This is not good," he decided.

Another agent hurried up. "We just got his phone records. He called this number in New York several times in the last two days." The agent handed Frank a printout of the dead actor's phone calls.

"Did you run a trace on this number?" Frank asked.

"Yes, sir," the man replied. "It's a prepaid cell phone so there's no way to know who it belongs to."

"Of course," Frank sighed.

"We are the monitoring the number. If he makes a call from it, we can pinpoint his location."

"Sounds good," Frank told him. His cell phone rang. "Hello?" he answered.

"I just got off the phone with NORAD," Agent Luck informed him. "The Blackhawk dropped off of their radar about a mile away from your position."

"She is probably flying low to avoid the radar," Frank mused. "What direction was she heading when they lost her?"

"East," Faith Luck replied.

"That fits with what we have here," Frank told her. "We'll be leaving immediately for New York City. Intel we've gathered here shows that she may be targeting the Empire State Building."

"I'll notify the NYPD," Agent Luck informed him before she ended the call.

Just then Eric called Frank from his cell phone. "We got caught in traffic and lost them," he reported.

"All right," Frank said. "You and Sage meet us at the airport; we're leaving for New York ASAP."

Frank quickly gathered his team of four and they headed back towards their SUVs. He told them where they were heading as they walked.

"This doesn't make any sense," Nancy said when he was finished. "Why would Gina jeopardize her mission of attacking our wedding by attempting to attack the Empire State Building two days before?"

"Maybe her real target was never the wedding," Frank replied. "Maybe it was the Empire State Building all along and she fed us the intel about the wedding to keep us occupied."

"Or maybe she's sending us on a wild goose chase now," Joe put in.

"Right," Frank agreed. "Either way, we have to check it out. Right now it's the only lead we have."

"True," Nancy agreed.

The four young people quickly stripped off their tactical gear and climbed into the Cadillac. Frank had the SUV in gear as soon as the last seatbelt was buckled.

They made the drive back to the airport in relative silence. Frank pulled parked the SUV at the curb where they had picked it up. They had just started climbing out of the vehicle when Eric and Sage pulled up behind them.

"You can't park there," the airport police officer started to say, and then he recognized Frank. "Oh, it's you," he grumbled. "Carry on."

"I just love being important, don't you?" Joe joked as they walked through the terminal towards the Network hangar. They badged their way through airport security and hurried up to the hangar.

Frank unlocked the door to the hangar and the group entered the building. Joe, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped.

"Frank," he said quietly, "did you leave the plane door open?"

"Of course not," Frank replied.

"Well, it's open now," Joe said as he drew his gun.


	12. Chapter 12

The two brothers cautiously approached the plane with their weapons drawn. Joe crept up the stairs to the open door. Frank silently counted to three and then Joe burst through the door. He aimed his gun at the figure seated in the passenger cabin.

"It's about time you guys got here," she said. "I've been waiting for almost an hour."

Joe lowered his gun. "What is this?" he quipped as he holstered the weapon, "reunion week? It's all right," he called back over his shoulder. "It's just an old friend."

Frank walked in, holstering his gun. "Endang," he said, "what in the world are you doing here? I haven't seen you since Indonesia."

"Well," the pretty Network agent replied, "when the Gray Man found out who the Avenger really is, he thought I might want to be involved in the case. So he gave me a call, and he was right. And here I am."

The rest of the Hardys' group entered the plane and Joe quickly made introductions.

"Have you heard the latest development?" Frank asked Endang.

"No," she replied. "What's up?

Frank quickly told her about the New York development.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Endang asked when Frank had finished his explanation. "Let's get in the air."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Frank agreed. He climbed back out of the plane and opened the door to the hangar. He then returned to the plane and quickly ran through his preflight checklist. "All right, everybody," he said after the list was done, "take your seats and prepare for takeoff." As the rest of the group settled into their seats and buckled their seatbelts, Frank started the powerful jet engines. The engines whined as they warmed up. After several minutes, Frank slowly taxied out onto the tarmac. As he waited for clearance from the control tower, he pushed the throttle in until the engines whined with barely leashed power. He backed off the throttle and taxied to the line until the tower gave him clearance. Upon receiving the clearance, he taxied onto the runway and once again pushed the throttle in. As the engines' noise rose to a fever pitch, he released the brake pedal and the Learjet rocketed down the runway. Frank pulled back on the control yoke and the jet rose into the sky.

Frank spoke into the intercom. "Good afternoon," he said, "this is your captain speaking. We will be leveling at a cruising altitude of forty thousand feet. Please remain seated with your seat belts buckled until we level off. We will be landing in Indianapolis for a quick refueling stop in about two hours. After that we will continue to our final destination of La Guardia Airport in New York City. Thank you."

Several minutes later, the plane leveled off at the cruising altitude. Frank handed the controls over to Brandi and stepped back into the main passenger cabin.

"That has to be the ugliest stewardess that I have ever seen," Eric cracked as Frank passed through the curtain.

"You said it," Joe snickered. "And where's my peanuts?"

"If you want peanuts," Frank replied, "you can get them yourself; and drinks too for that matter." He looked at Nancy, Endang, and Sage. "Would you ladies like anything to drink or eat?" he asked.

The girls gave him their orders and he stepped back to the tiny galley to prepare the refreshments. Once they were ready, he handed them out to the three young ladies. Then he grabbed his and Brandi's food and headed back for the cockpit.

"Oh, great," Joe said sarcastically. "He get's everybody else's food, but not ours?"

"I would have gotten yours," Frank shot back, "but then you two had to open your big mouths." He stuck out his tongue at them. "So there!"

"Fine," Joe grumbled as he got up to make himself and Eric lunch.

***

Two hours later, Frank and Brandi landed the plane at Indianapolis International Airport right on schedule.

As they taxied up to the Fixed Base Operator, or FBO, Frank once again spoke over the intercom. "All right ladies and gents," he said, "if you need to stretch your legs or use the restroom, now is your chance. The next stop is good old New York." He powered down the engines and the group quickly got off of the plane. He topped off the tank and headed to use the restroom himself.

Frank was just leaving the men's room with Joe right behind him when they saw a figure walking towards their plane.

"Is that who I think it is?" Frank asked Joe, pointing at the man, "or am I seeing things?"

"You're not seeing things," Joe said. "What is he doing here?"


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey, Dad!" Joe asked as they got closer. "What's going on?"

"What? No 'It's great to see you, Dad,'? Or 'You look terrific, have you lost weight?'" Fenton Hardy cracked as they walked up.

The two brothers hugged their dad. "It's great to see you, Dad," Joe joked, "but I don't think you've lost any weight. In fact," he poked his dad in the stomach, "I think you may have put on a few pounds."

Fenton sighed with mock annoyance. "It's entirely your mother's fault. With all that good food she cooks, how am I supposed to lose any weight? Then you throw in your Aunt Gertrude's baking, and it is definitely impossible."

The boys laughed at Fenton's antics. It was obvious that he was having no problems staying in shape.

"Seriously though," Frank said, "what are you doing here?"

"Well, your mom and I got to River Heights for the wedding and Iola told us what you were up to. I figured you could probably use some extra help, so I called up Agent Luck and she shuttled me down here in one of your choppers to meet you."

"Cool!" was Joe's response.

"Did she brief you on what's going on?" Frank asked.

"She let me read the file on the flight over," Fenton told him.

"Well then, knowing Faith, that's all the explanation you could ask for," Frank replied. "She has terrific attention to detail."

"That's the impression I got," Fenton agreed. "Now, where's my favorite daughter?"

"Being a girl, I'm sure she's still in the ladies' room," Joe told him.

"Eric's not out here yet either," Frank pointed out.

"Like I said…" Joe deadpanned. "Actually, I saw him mulling over the choices in the vending machine when we walked by." Then, "Speak of the devil," he said as Eric walked up munching on a candy bar.

"Huh?" Eric asked with a blank look.

The three Hardy men broke out in laughter.

"Never mind," Frank assured him.

Just then Brandi walked out of the building followed by the other three girls. "Dad!" she cried joyously. She ran over and hugged her father. "What are you doing here?"

"We asked him to come down to keep you in line," Joe told her. This was followed by a loud, "Ouch! That hurt!" as Brandi slugged him in the arm.

"You asked for it," Frank told his brother. He turned back to Fenton. "Do you see what I have to put up with?" he sighed.

"I'm sure you are very persecuted," Fenton mocked. He turned to his daughter and explained his presence.

"All right, people," Frank said, "it's time to go. Headcount!" He looked around to make sure everybody was present.

"I've still only got one!" Eric shot back. Sage whacked him in the arm. "There is entirely too much violence from these females," Eric stated as he rubbed his sore arm.

Frank rolled his eyes. "I'm a glorified babysitter," he complained. "Get on the plane, you 'whiner babies.'*"

The rest of the group gave him dirty looks as they boarded the plane.

A short time later, the group was once again airborne. After they leveled off at cruising altitude, Frank stepped back into the passenger cabin. "Wow," he commented, "it's starting to get crowded back here."

"Was that another crack about my weight?" Fenton joked.

"I plead the fifth," Frank replied, with an innocent look on his face.

"You're not too big to take over my knee, you know," Fenton warned.

"Just try it, Old Man," Frank said, falling back into a mock martial arts stance.

"Speaking of babysitting…" Nancy teased.

"I can call your dad too," Frank shot back.

"Somebody needs to do something about her," Joe agreed. For his efforts, he earned a slug in the arm from his future sister-in-law. He turned around. "Here," he said, "do you want to hit this one too? It doesn't have a bruise yet."

"Sure," Nancy said, quickly slugging him.

"I was joking," Joe moaned as he settled back into his seat.

"Well, I thought it would be rude not to take you up on your offer," Nancy said innocently.

"Smart aleck," Joe replied. "Frank, reel in your woman."

"Don't even think about it," Nancy warned her fiancée.

Frank held up his hands. "Hey," he protested. "This is your fight, not mine. I think I will retreat to the safe zone known as the cockpit." He quickly made his exit.

"See?" Endang put in. "I always knew Frank was a smart man."

"I always thought so too," Joe quipped, "and then he proposed to this monster beside me." He quickly held up a pillow to shield his arm. He was just in time. Nancy's fist plowed into the pillow.

"There are other forms of punishment," Nancy said wickedly.

"Like what?" Joe asked cautiously.

"Most people don't know this," Nancy addressed the others, "but Joe is extremely ticklish."

"Don't you dare," Joe warned.

Nancy was reaching towards him when suddenly an earsplitting alarm shattered the mood.

"What's going on?" Fenton asked, instantly on the alert.

"We've been fired on," Sage answered tensely.

*Author's Note: If any of you have not seen the movie _Sky High_, I suggest doing so.

Also, I know this chapter serves no real purpose in the story for the most part. It's more of a shameless attempt on my part to make the story longer. It didn't work in high school, but maybe you guys are an easier audience.


	14. Chapter 14

"Everybody buckle in!" Frank yelled over the intercom. A moment later the plane lurched as he yanked it out of the path of the incoming missile. The missile exploded harmlessly in the spot where they had been mere seconds before.

Joe quickly connected a headset into the arm on his chair and spoke directly to Frank. "What's going on?" he demanded

"There's a MiG behind us. They just fired on us."

"What model?" Joe answered as he started typing furiously on a laptop that was attached to the arm of his seat.

"It looks like probably a 29," Frank answered.

"And he's fired one missile?"

"Correct."

"In that case, he has up to five missiles and a 30 mm cannon left," Joe informed him.

"You're not comforting me here," was Frank's attempt at humor.

"Well," Joe replied, "I hope you have a plan, because there is no way we are going to out maneuver a fighter jet in a passenger jet."

"I have a few ideas," Frank assured him, his mind racing as he thought through his options. Most Network vehicles had many aftermarket modifications, and the Learjet was no exception.

"Launch two," Brandi said as the alarm began to sound again. "And there's three," she added as the fighter pilot triggered another missile.

"I've got it," Frank muttered through clenched teeth.

"Frank!" Brandi yelled. "They're going to hit us!"

"Not today," Frank said. At the last possible second, he punched a button and banked hard to the right. A stream of chaff shot out from the back of the plane and confused the missiles' guidance system. They exploded harmlessly in the field of chaff. Frank released his pent up breath. "Three down and three to go," he said.

Just then several more blips appeared on their radar. "Oh no," Brandi groaned, "don't tell me he brought reinforcements!"

Just then a voice came over their radio. "Lear N8J57, stand down. This is Lieutenant Colonel Jim Bell, United States Air Force. We've got it from here."

"Roger that," Frank replied.

The passengers of the Network Learjet breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Where did they come from?" Brandi wanted to know.

"I called up Langley Air Force Base after the first missile. They sent a flight of F-22 Raptors to give us a hand," Joe said over his headset.

"Joe, I could kiss you right now!" Frank yelled cheerfully.

"Don't you dare!" Joe yelled back. "The mere thought makes me want to hurl!"

The banter ended as all of the passengers pressed their faces to the windows to see the drama behind them unfold. Over the radio, they could here Lieutenant Colonel Bell warning the MiG pilot to stand down. Instead, he launched a missile straight at the Air Force jets! The F-22s easily evaded the missile and fired several of their own. Within seconds the Russian-made fighter jet was nothing more than a ball of flame.

A moment later, Bell's voice came over their radio again. "Lear N8J57, is everybody okay in there?"

"That's affirmative," Frank told him. "We appreciate your assistance."

"Our pleasure," the officer assured him as the F-22s pealed off and headed back towards Virginia.

***

Thirty minutes later, the plane full of Network Agents and assorted guests landed at La Guardia Airport.

"I don't know about you," Joe said as they stumbled off of the plane, "but I am ready for bed."

"It is really late," Frank agreed looking at his watch and seeing that it was well after midnight. "It's a good thing we kept our apartment here in the city. Why don't we all head over there and sack out for a few hours and then we can get on Gina's trail in the morning?"

Everybody agreed that it was a fine idea. They walked out of the terminal to find a very long stretch limousine and a chauffer waiting for them. As the tired group piled into the luxury car, Frank said, "I guess they believed me when I said we needed a big car."

Within minutes of the big car pulling away from the curb, all of the passengers were fast asleep.

***

Frank was awakened by the unmerciful ringing of his cell phone. Where was he? For the life of him he could not remember anything after getting in the limo at the airport. He glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table as he pushed the button to answer the call. Who was calling him at 5:30 in the morning? "Yeah," he mumbled.

"What is going on?" the Gray Man demanded. "I haven't heard a report for hours."

"We're in New York, we almost got shot down, and we're tired," Frank reported.

"Are you drunk?" the Gray Man wanted to know.

"Just half asleep," Frank told him. "Normal people are sleeping this early in the morning."

"Morning? What are you talking about?" the Gray Man roared. His next words brought Frank wide awake. "It's 5:30 at night!"


	15. Chapter 15

"How could it be 5:30 at night?" Frank protested. "It was two in the morning when we got in the limo."

"What limo?" the Gray Man asked.

"The one you sent, of course," Frank told him.

The Gray Man was silent for a moment. "I never sent a limo," he told Frank. "I sent two Cadillac Escalades just like in LA."

Frank's blood ran cold.

"What is going on there, Frank?" the Gray Man asked again.

"I'm beginning to get an inkling," Frank replied. "I'll call you back when I know for sure." He ended the call.

Frank looked around the dark room. Lying in the queen sized bed beside him, fully clothed, was Sage Jameson. Now he knew that something was definitely wrong. He crawled out of the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. At least they were in the right apartment. He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face. Feeling much more human, Frank filled a glass with water and walked back into the bedroom. _Joe is going to be sorry he missed this_, Frank thought wryly as he upended the glass on Sage's head.

She sputtered as she sat bolt upright. "What happened? Where am I?" She squinted at Frank. "What are you doing in my room? And why is my head wet?"

"It's a long story," Frank said, "and I'll let you know when I figure it out. Here." He handed her the empty glass. "Fill this up; you're going to need it." He retreated to the bathroom and filled up a second glass for himself.

Still puzzled, Sage followed his lead. They walked into the next bedroom. Joe was passed out on his bed with Nancy beside him, both also fully clothed.

Sage grinned wickedly. "Allow me," she said. She strolled over to the bed and gleefully dumped half of her water on his head.

"Ten more minutes, mom," Joe muttered as he pulled a pillow over his head.

Sage grinned again as she yanked away the pillow and threw the rest of her water into Joe's face. Joe sat straight up. "Wazzappening?" he grumbled. His eyes cleared as he saw the two standing next to the bed. "What are you doing?" he asked, a little more clearly this time.

"Oh boy," Sage cackled, "I wish I could have a video of that."

"Wish granted," Frank said, his grin matching hers. He held up the cell phone that he had used to record Joe's awakening. To Joe he said, "I'll explain it all after we wake the others up."

"Are you going to wake Nancy up?" Sage asked Frank, an innocent look on her face.

"Not on my life," Frank stated firmly. He handed his full glass of water to Joe. "You may do the honors," he said graciously.

"My pleasure," Joe replied, just as graciously. He happily dumped the glass of water on Nancy's strawberry blonde hair.

Nancy gasped and bolted out of the bed. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Joe with the empty glass of water. "Why you little…" she started, then she saw Frank and Sage standing there. "What's wrong?" she asked, confused.

Frank quickly told her that he would explain everything soon. The four young people quickly woke the others that were scattered throughout the apartment. Soon they were all gathered in the living room.

"So what is going on?" Fenton asked. "Does anybody know how we got here? Or how we slept all the way through the day?"

"According to the Gray Man," Frank said, "the limo at the airport wasn't from the Network. My best guess as to what happened is that they drugged us when we got into the limo then drove us here and carried us in."

"It sounds like another stall tactic to me," Eric said angrily.

"I think you're exactly right," Frank agreed. "Unfortunately, it worked. It's now Thursday night and the wedding is on Saturday. We have less than two days to stop Gina."

"Even less than that," Nancy said. "The wedding rehearsal is tomorrow night."

"What she said," Frank agreed. "Now what we need to do is find out if Gina really is planning to blow up the Empire State Building, or if that was also a stall tactic."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Brandi asked. "It looks to me like we're fresh out of leads."

As the group sat in dejected silence, Frank's cell phone rang. "Yeah?" he answered.

"The cell phone was turned back on, sir," Agent Luck informed him.

It took Frank a moment to realize that she was talking about the cell phone that had been called multiple times from Jack Johnson's house. "Where is it?" he asked excitedly. "Is he moving?"

"He doesn't appear to be," Faith told him. "He appears to be stationary at this address." She read him the address.

Frank jotted it down and then said, "Great! Thanks, Faith," Frank said. "We'll head right over." He ended the call. He told the others what Faith Luck had said.

"Um, Frank?" Joe said. "I don't know about yours, but I think they took all of our guns."

Frank checked the shoulder holster under his jacket and realized that Joe was right, their guns were missing!


	16. Chapter 16

Frank was at a loss for a moment then he smacked his own forehead. "I feel like an idiot," he said. "What we need is 'guns; lots of guns.'*" He crossed the room and pressed a hidden button. Half of the wall slid away to reveal a huge rack filled with all different kinds of guns. "I must be really out of it if I forgot about our secret stockpile," he said. "Pick your poison, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "We roll out in five minutes." With that, he picked a Desert Eagle .50 caliber pistol off of the rack and tested the action. Finding that it was in working order, he slid in a clip and racked the slide to chamber a round. He set the safety and placed the gun in his shoulder holster. He slid several extra magazines into the clip pouches on the harness. He pulled out a large combat knife and clipped the sheath to his belt. To complete his armament, he pulled an M-4 assault rifle off of the rack and loaded it. He attached a pouch with several extra clips in it to his belt.

The others in the group quickly followed his example. Within five minutes, all eight people in the group were armed to the teeth.

"So how are we going to get there?" Fenton wanted to know.

Frank grinned. "We've got that covered," he told them. He led the way down to the storage facility that was next door to the apartment complex. He unlocked the padlock on one of the larger units and slid the door open.

Fenton gaped. "I thought you got rid of that old bucket a long time ago," he said.

"You still have the old van?" Nancy asked. "Cool!"

"She has a few more 'improvements' than you may remember," Joe said, "but we keep her around for special occasions."

Frank climbed into the old black police van that he and Joe had gotten after the Assassins had blown up their sedan.** He twisted the key in the ignition and the powerful engine roared to life. He drove it out of the storage unit. Joe locked up the unit and then followed the others into the van. As soon as the door was closed, Frank punched the accelerator and the van tore out of the storage facility.

As they turned onto the street, a female voice asked, "What is your destination, please?" Frank read off the address that Agent Luck had given him. "Thank you," the voice said. "One moment, please." A few seconds later, the voice started giving Frank driving directions.

"Wow," Nancy said, "that's some GPS."

Frank grinned as he flipped a switch on the dash. There was an electric whirring noise as a light bar emerged from the top of the roof. A moment later a siren started wailing as the lights flashed. Cars started pulling over to let them pass.

"Just like Moses and the Red Sea," Joe cracked.

When they were close to the address that Faith had given them, Frank turned off the lights and siren and slowed down to the speed limit. "No reason to let them know we're coming," he reasoned. He pulled to a stop outside of a dilapidated-looking apartment building.

"I think we're wearing more hardware than that building has seen in a long time," Joe made fun of the building's shabby appearance. Immediately, Nancy lightly smacked the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah," he admitted, "that was a bad one alright."

Frank rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Nancy asked. "It looks condemned."

Frank pointed to a notice on the front door of the building. "That's because it is," he answered. "Which makes it one of the Assassins' favorite places."

"At least we don't have to worry about waking the neighbors," Eric added.

Frank studied the building carefully. "Okay," he said. "It looks like there's a back door and a front door. It's three stories tall. We'll break up into two teams. Team One will go through the front door and sweep the apartments along the east side of the hall. Team Two will enter from the back and sweep the west apartments. Then we'll do the same on the second and third floors. Any questions?" When there were none, he continued, "Team One will be me, Joe, Nancy, and Brandi. Team Two will be Dad, Eric, Sage, and Endang. Are we ready?"

When he received the affirmative, he opened his door. "Let's go," he said. The group quickly piled out of the van and sprinted to their respective spots. Frank gave Team Two plenty of time to get around to the back and then yelled, "Now!" With that, he kicked in the front door and burst into the hallway.

The teams searched the building according to Frank's orders. They found nothing until they reached the last apartment. They burst into the apartment and found a man sitting in a chair in the otherwise empty apartment.

"Who are you?" Frank asked as he pointed his assault rifle at the man's chest.

The man grinned at Frank and began convulsing as he fell off of the chair.

*Author's Note: Another good movie.

**Hardy Boys Casefiles #1 _Dead on Target_


	17. Chapter 17

"No!" Frank yelled as he rushed at the man. He was too late. The man was dead. He quickly searched the man's pockets. He found a prepaid cell phone in one of the pockets. He was beginning to examine it when it suddenly rang. "Hello?" he answered hesitantly.

"Well, hello, Frank," a woman's voice said. "I've wanted to talk to you for a very long time."

"I'll bet you have, Gina," Frank replied.

"I'm surprised you remember me," the Avenger replied. "Although, I do suppose that you tend to remember people when you ruin their lives."

"And what have we done to ruin your life?" Frank asked, genuinely puzzled.

"You made me lose all that money!" Gina screamed at him. "I would have been filthy rich, but instead, I had to convince that piece of trash, Johnson, that I was in love with him so that I could even afford to live. All because you made me lose my ten billion dollars! I've wasted two years of my life being married to that loser all because of you!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Frank smirked.

"Don't you dare laugh at me!" the woman yelled.

Frank twirled his finger around in a circle at his temple and then pointed at the phone. This woman is psycho! "So how did you escape being killed in Indonesia?" Frank asked in a conversational tone.

Gina laughed. "That was the easy part," she told him. "It was part of the plan all along. Boris, that idiot, was supposed to help me fake my death from the beginning. That way I could take the money and escape jail while the rest of them rotted. Boris thought that I would take him with me, but I never intended to. I was wearing a bulletproof vest covered in fake blood packets. When Boris shot me, all I had to do was pretend to be dead and the rest was easy. You idiots showed up too soon though and we had to go ahead with the plan so that I could escape with my freedom instead of my freedom and a huge chunk of cash."

"So where does the Empire State Building fit in?" Frank asked.

"As a diversion, you idiot!" Gina yelled. "And it worked perfectly. Now get your butts back to River Heights where you belong. That's where the real action is!" With that, she hung up.

Frank turned to the others. "That woman has serious issues," he told them. "I'd hate to be her shrink."

"What did our good friend Gina have to say?" Joe asked.

"Blah, blah, I'm going to kill you, blah, blah, you ruined my life, blah, blah, blah," Frank said. "In fact, you can all listen to her ranting on the way to the airport. I hit the built in recorder on this phone when she started talking. But right now, we need to get back to River Heights. Time is running out."

The group piled back into the Hardys' van and Frank drove back to the airport. On the way, the rest of the group listened to the recording of Gina's conversation with Frank. Once they arrived, Frank parked the van in airport parking and notified the local Network office that it was there and that they should pick it up and take it back to the storage unit.

The group quickly loaded up the Learjet and took off. Once they had reached cruising altitude, Frank came back into the passenger cabin. "Unless Gina was pulling a double bluff," he said, "I think she's in River Heights or at least close to it. Now the question becomes, how do we stop her?"

Most of the others shook there heads, indicating that they had no ideas, but Nancy spoke up. "Why should we even try to stop her?" she asked. "That's exactly what she wants. She wants us to keep chasing our tails until we're out of time. I'm sick and tired of playing her game. I have a better idea."

"Let's hear it," Frank said. "I'm all ears."

Nancy began to explain her plan. At first Frank looked thoughtful, but before too long he was grinning from ear to ear. "I think it just might work," he told her.


	18. Chapter 18

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear as the Hardys prepared for the big wedding.

"Are you nervous?" Phil Cohen, Frank's best man, asked as he helped Frank get ready.

"A little bit," Frank admitted, "but I'm mostly excited."

***

Across the hall, in another room, Chet Morton asked Joe the same thing.

Joe scoffed at his best man. "Me? Nervous?" he laughed. "Definitely not!"

***

On the other side of the church, Nancy was helped into her wedding dress by, George Fayne, her maid of honor, and Bess Marvin, her bridesmaid. "I'm so excited!" she gushed as she twirled around.

"Hold still!" George snapped. "Or I'm never going to get this dress fastened!"

"Oh lighten up," Bess told her cousin. "A girl only has one wedding day; she should be excited."

***

"Do I look okay?" Iola asked her maid of honor, Sage Jameson.

"You look great," Sage assured her as she sprayed her with more hairspray.

"Definitely," her bridesmaid, Brandi, agreed. "Joe's eyes are going to bug out when he sees you."

***

Frank and Joe stood side by side in a room off to the side of the massive auditorium. Behind them stood their best men along with their two groomsmen, Tony Prito and Biff Hooper. The two brothers peaked through the crack made by the barely open door.

"Look at that crowd," Joe said. "I never knew we were so popular!"

"You mean, you never knew that I was so popular," Frank said as he elbowed his brother. "They're all here for me."

Joe shot his brother a dirty look. "Hey look," he said, "there's Nancy's dad. And there's Mr. and Mrs. Morton."

"And there's Senator Jamesley," Frank added.

"I sure hope Nancy's plan works," Joe said. "Otherwise we are going to be responsible for a whole lot of important people dying."

Suddenly the Gray Man stepped up to the door. "I just spoke with Colonel Brandemuehl of the 115th Fighter Wing out of Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin," he murmured through the cracked door. "He has a flight of F-16s ready to take off at a moment's notice."

"Will that be soon enough?" Joe asked.

"He assures me that they can be here within five minutes from the time they get the call," the Gray Man replied.

"Impressive," Joe said.

"I sure hope you guys know what you are doing," the Gray Man muttered before he walked away.

"Him and me both," Frank agreed.

Just then the organ started to play.

"We're on," Frank said as he opened the door wide. The two brothers walked to the front of the auditorium, followed by their groomsmen.

As they stood at the front of the auditorium, the back doors of the auditorium were opened and the flower girl and ring bearer came up the aisle. They were followed by the bridesmaids. One by one they met the groomsmen at the front of the auditorium and took their positions on the platform. As the wedding march began to play, Frank and Joe heard voices coming through the tiny earphones hidden in their ear canals.

"We have radar contact," Eric's voice said.

"Copy that," came Endang's voice.

"F-16s have launched," said Agent Luck.

"10-4," Endang said.

A few moments later, Agent Luck's voice came again. "I don't think the jets are going to make it in time," she said urgently.

"I've got it," Endang said, her voice tense.

By now everybody in the building could hear the sound of an approaching helicopter.

Nancy and Iola approached the front of the auditorium and Frank and Joe took their arms. As they started to recite their vows, Frank and Joe heard more voices.

"No sign of the jets," Agent Luck said. "Take the shot."

The wedding guests gasped as they heard the sound of a shot from a high-powered rifle. The pastor stopped in the middle of reading the vows.

"Keep going, Pastor," Joe said. "It's only thunder."

"She's still coming," Eric said urgently. "Fire again."

Up in the steeple of the church, Endang aimed carefully through the scope of her Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle at the approaching Blackhawk helicopter. She held her breath and squeezed the trigger twice in quick succession. The massive gun roared twice as the slugs sped toward Gina.

"You hit her!" Eric said as the helicopter's engine sputtered and died. The chopper began to plummet to the ground.

"Nice shot," Faith Luck congratulated her. "Let's head inside and watch the rest of the ceremony."

Frank and Joe grinned at each other as they finished saying their vows. They nodded at the three agents as they slipped in the back of the auditorium.

The pastor finished up the ceremony by saying, "I now declare you men and wives. You may ki..." He was broken off by the rear door of the auditorium slamming open.

"Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily?" Gina screamed at them as she stumbled into the auditorium. The audience stared in horror at the soot and blood streaked figure before them. What was even more horrifying was that Gina was holding a .50 caliber Desert Eagle to Gertrude Hardy's temple as she held the Hardys' aunt in a headlock.

Two shots rang out and Gertrude slumped to the floor.


	19. Chapter 19

Gina's head snapped backwards as the two bullets from Joe Hardy's 9mm Glock entered her face. Her dead body flopped to the floor.

Immediately wedding guests rushed to check on Gertrude.

"I don't see any blood!" Eric called.

Two paramedics rushed in the back door and knelt over Gertrude's body. After a few tense minutes, they stood, helping Aunt Gertrude to her feet. "She just fainted!" one of them called. "She's okay!"

The gathered guests broke into applause. Joe discreetly tucked the handgun back into the shoulder holster underneath his tux jacket.

"Get a cleanup crew in here _now!_" the Gray Man's voice came over the radios still hidden on the Hardys and all of the other undercover operatives at the wedding.

Mere moments later, a several Network agents hurried in the back door pushing a gurney. They loaded up Gina's lifeless body and two of them pushed her out while the third cleaned up the pool of blood. Three minutes later, all traces of the shooting were gone. Many of the guests never even realized what had happened.

Joe cleared his throat loudly. As the guests all turned to face the platform, he said, "I believe we were interrupted. Pastor?"

"Ah...yes," the pastor stammered. "You may kiss the brides."

Joe leaned over and kissed Iola at the same moment that Frank kissed Nancy. As they straightened up, the pastor said, "I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Hardy and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hardy!"

The crowd went wild as the two couples marched back down the aisle.

***

"So where are you taking Nancy for your honeymoon?" Joe asked Frank later at the reception. "I'm taking Iola to Cancun."

"I've decided on Rome," Frank told him. "I've had enough of tropical climates for the time being."

THE END

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed **_**Forgotten Dangers**_**. Please review and stay tuned for the next installment in my series, **_**Organized Crime**_**.**


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